How to make the bass and arpeggio sounds from Kavinsky 'Nightcall' in DRC

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Whilst some artists are content with purely having music be their artform, Vincent Belorgey is not one of them. If that name is unfamiliar to you, it’s because he is more commonly known as ‘Kavinsky.’ More than just a stage name, it’s a whole character, complete with a backstory carved out of the science fiction and zombie movies of the 80’s.

The influence of 80’s culture is recognisable in all of Kavinsky’s creative facets; the retro styling of the music videos, the oldskool action film narratives contained within, and of course the glorious sound of classic synthesizers creating an atmosphere of pure nostalgia.

The premise of the Kavinsky character’s history is certainly interesting; in 1986 he crashes his red Ferrari Testarossa, (the same car as the 80’s arcade racing game ‘Out Run’) he then reappears 20 years later as an electronic music creating zombie. Nightcall tells the story of Kavinsky’s quest to find his girlfriend at the time of the crash, only to discover that she has already moved on from him.

Originally released in 2010, the track received a boost of mainstream exposure and popularity after it was used in the opening sequence of the 2011 movie ‘Drive.’ In 2013, the English group ‘London Grammar’ took the song in a totally different direction, featuring haunting piano and vocals, their cover version almost feels like a completely different song.

If you haven’t already, be sure to check out our free effects plugin DLYM Delay Modulator that we used in this week’s video - it could be that extra little bit of sonic seasoning you are looking for!